The present invention relates to new aluminum phosphate compositions of matter and to a process for the preparation thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to novel potassium-aluminum-phosphate compositions of matter.
There are a number of aluminum-phosphate compositions of matter known in the art. These are frequently referred to in the prior art as "ceramic" or "foamed ceramic" materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,330,675 describes one such foamed ceramic material. This material, according to the patent, is described by mixing a solution of acid aluminum phosphate of suitable composition with a "basic compound", which is further defined in the patent, in the presence of a substance which liberates a gas during or after the mixing process. The resulting product is said to set in about 10 minutes to form a useful porous cellular product without the application of heat from any external source.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,113 discloses an inorganic foamed composition comprising metallic salts of phosphoric acid, containing discrete cells of closed cellular structure. In accordance with the patent, the inorganic foam is formed by first preparing a stable aqueous solution of metal phosphate having a specific metal/phosphate ratio, and then subjecting that solution to simultaneous foaming and setting by addition of a basic carbonate of polyvalent metals thereto.